There are three basic methods that have been used in the past for attaching soles to the uppers of shoes. The bottoming may be done by sewing, cementing, nailing, or a combination of these three joining techniques. Nailing may be done with nails, screws, staples, or pegs. The sewing may be with or without the use of welt, insole, middle sole and filler sections; the same applies to cementing soles to uppers. Sole sections vary in plycount; a three-ply sole has a middle sole sandwiched between an outer sole and an inner sole; the two-ply sole consists of outer and inner soles; the single sole has only one ply.
In sports, the type of sole on the shoe has a major impact on the ability of the user to properly move about the surface. In tennis, in particular, a wide variety of tennis court surfaces exist. Many times, the sole of a shoe that is appropriate on one type of tennis court surface would be wholly inappropriate on another tennis court surface. Often, among experienced players, the soles of shoes can become worn so that they are no longer of an optimal condition. Additionally, and furthermore, it is important to be able to vary the texture of the sole surface to accommodate the court requirements, the play requirements, and the comfort of the wearer.
Unfortunately, in order to have a wide array of various sole textures, it is presently necessary that the wearer own a large number of pairs of shoes. This can be extremely expensive and can occupy a great deal of space. During a tennis match, there is often little or no time available in which to change shoes. For many wearers, the lacing of the tennis shoes is extremely important to athletic performance. As such, a great deal of time must be expended properly lacing the shoes so as to accommodate the needs of the user. In addition, tennis players must quickly change shoes during a match whenever the soles of the shoes become excessively worn. It is desirable to be able to change soles during a tennis match.
In the past, various patents have addressed the need for removable soles. U.S. Pat. No. 818,173, issued on Apr. 17, 1906, to J. M. Hoffman describes an anti-slipping removable sole for shoes in which a clip wraps around the exterior edges of a regular shoe. A clamp is provided so as to cause the rearward edges of the removable sole to fasten to the outer extending leather edge of the shoe sole. U.S. Pat. No. 1,918,639, issued on Jul. 18, 1933, to I. S. Greentree provides an anti-slip attachment for shoes in which a midsole is fastened by brackets to the outside edge of a shoe sole. An extending ring fastens to the rearward portion of the removable sole. The removable sole has a plurality of holes built therein for providing an anti-slip surface. U.S. Pat. No. 1,857,751, issued on May 10, 1932, to R. Wollmer has a plurality of brackets extending around the periphery of the sole for engaging the extending leather portion of a shoe. U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,384, issued on Jul. 29, 1980, to R. Gonzalez discloses a shoe having a first coupling element secured on a heel portion and a second coupling element, defining a heel thereon, slidably mounted in interlocking relationship with the first coupling element. A resilient locking tab on the second coupling element engages a locking groove formed on the first coupling element. The heel is maintained in position by a removable wedge. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,599, issued on Sep. 24, 1985, to G. Annovi discloses a ski boot having a foot portion and sole constructed for comfort and easy walking. A separately formed normalized shoe attachment for the ski boot interlocks securely with the boot and renders the boot compatible with any ski binding.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a shoe having an interchangable sole.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a sport shoe having interchangable soles which are adapted to be used on a wide variety of surfaces and a wide variety of materials (of varying degrees of abrasiveness).
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a shoe having a removable sole which is properly tensioned on the bottom of the shoe.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a shoe having a removable sole which is securely fastened to the shoe upper.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a shoe with an interchangable sole which is relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and simple to manufacture.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.